I recently took out a debt consolidation loan to pay off my credit cards and have just the one bill – however, the loan didn’t quite cover my credit cards… I also opened two new balance transfer 0% credit cards to help cut the interest of the leftover credit card debt… I still don’t quite have enough to wipe it all into 3 bills – plus, I have a previous personal loan I have 2 more years of paying… what would be the best way to distribute these funds, and balance transfers… so that I’m cutting my interest payments, upping my cashflow so that I’m not
If you're hopelessly drowning in debt, know that you can't negotiate any lower interest rates with your credit card companies or creditors, or if the math works out, a debt consolidation loan may be a good decision for you. Similarly, if you're in serious trouble with high interest rates, high monthly payments (that you're having trouble with already), and too many bills, a debt consolidation loan might help. Combined with a debt repayment plan or credit counseling, it can be used to pay off all of your debt at a fraction of their original cost. If it may be a good time to strike, pay it all off, and walk away debt-free. Photo by erules123.
In general, you should try to keep credit card balances low. When you consolidate the cards you’re consolidating will have much lower credit utilization ratios, but your overall ratio will remain the same. However, the lower interest rate you’re paying during the introductory period means you can pay more toward your balance each month, helping lower your overall credit utilization more quickly.
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Consolidating the debt probably won’t hurt your credit scores over the long run, but there could be a short-term impact from the new loan with a balance. So I can’t guarantee that your scores won’t dip when you do this. If your scores are strong enough to get the lease now you may want to go ahead and do that. If not you may be taking something of a chance – it could go either way. Will Debt Consolidation Help or Hurt Your Credit?
While this might seem like an obvious debt-repayment strategy, Cavalieri – and many personal finance experts – suggest that you set up your payments with your bank or debit card, so that anything you owe is automatically paid every month. "Automation is key. Setting up payments to go automatically will help keep things humming and ensure you do not miss any payments," Cavalieri says. That way, not only will you start filling the debt hole, you'll avoid late fees and you'll improve your credit score, which may allow you to refinance some debt for better interest rates.
The exact number of points anyone’s credit score may drop for negative credit behaviors or improve with positive behaviors varies because everyone’s credit file is made up of a different combination of several factors. For example, the higher your score to begin with, the steeper the drop for any negative credit behaviors and with a lower starting score you may see more of a score increase for positive credit behaviors.

Following the 2007-2008 implosion of the housing market, banks saw mortgage borrowers defaulting at higher rates than ever before. In addition to higher mortgage default rates, the market downturn led to higher default rates across all types of consumer loans. To maintain profitability banks began tightening lending practices. More stringent lending standards made it tough for anyone with poor credit to get a loan at a reasonable rate. Although banks have loosened lending somewhat in the last two years, people with subprime credit will continue to struggle to get loans. In June 2017, banks rejected 81.4% of all credit applications from people with Equifax Risk Scores below 680. By contrast, banks rejected 9.11% of credit applications from those with credit scores above 760.22

Negative records that you cannot successfully dispute will remain on your credit reports for roughly seven to 10 years. The best way to overcome such negatives is to add a pile of new positive information to your credit reports. Doing so dilutes the negative information and shows that you’re really a responsible borrower who just made a few mistakes. We’ll explain how to go about doing that in the steps below.

Transitioning from a secured to an unsecured credit card: The transition from an unsecured card to a secured card is fairly simple for the cards mentioned below, with many conducting periodic reviews of your account to evaluate if you can move to an unsecured card. And, when you’re transitioned to an unsecured card, you’ll receive your security deposit back. Another way to be refunded the deposit is by paying off any balances and closing the card — though we don’t recommend closing the account since that jeopardizes your credit score.

A HELOC typically charges a variable interest rate tied to a benchmark such as Prime Lending Rate. You only owe interest when you tap (use) your credit line. A HELOC often has a 10-year "draw" period when you can borrow against it, before you must start repayment. A HEL is typically a fixed-rate loan with a set payback period of five to 10 years or so.
The FCRA section 605(c)(1) states; The 7-year period… shall begin, with respect to any delinquent account that is placed for collection (internally or by referral to a third party, whichever is earlier), charged to profit and loss, or subjected to any similar action, upon the expiration of the 180-day period beginning on the date of the commencement of the delinquency which immediately preceded the collection activity, charge to profit and loss, or similar action.
Once you have completed credit counseling, you can start your bankruptcy case with your attorney. This involves filing a packet of forms with the local bankruptcy court. Required forms include the bankruptcy petition, forms for your financial information, a list of your income and expenses, and proof you have passed the Chapter 7 means test. You will also list your property exemptions based on limits in your state.
A higher credit score: If you have maxed out your credit cards, your utilization ratio will be very high. That ratio can have a big, negative impact on your credit score. By paying off credit cards with a loan, you will be reducing the utilization on your cards. According to a study by Lending Club , people who used a loan to pay off credit cards saw an average score increase of 21 points within three months of the loan. The best way to improve your credit score is to eliminate your credit card debt burden completely.

Consolidating credit card debt allows you to develop an effective repayment strategy so you can get out of debt faster. At the same time, you minimize interest charges, which reduces your total cost and can lower your monthly payments. But debt consolidation is not a silver bullet. It won’t work in every situation and if it’s used incorrectly, it can actually make a bad situation worse.

Although you may understand the concept of credit limits, few people take the time to examine their credit utilization—or the amount of debt owed vs. the total credit limit. An ideal credit score boasts a utilization ratio of 25 percent or less. If you have a $10,000 credit limit, you should never charge more than $2,500 at a time. The same goes for individual cards. For example, Margot has three credit cards with the following limits:

This tip is a valuable financial lesson that many people can implement, and it can completely transform their financial situation. Typically, people tend to wait until the last minute to pay their bills, which results in late payments, late fees, and extended loans. The goal with this is to develop the habit of scheduling your payments to be automatic. IF you have already missed a payment in the past, this tip is even more important for you. By scheduling your payments automatically, you are making the dedication that the money will be in the account by the time the bill needs to come out. This, at the same time, if properly managed, can help direct your entire attention on paying your bills on time, rather than purchasing something out of instant gratification. Also, by showing lenders that you have set up automatic payments, it shows a level of dedication towards fast credit repair.

While the Savings Secured Visa Platinum Card from State Department Federal CU has a slightly higher security deposit at $250, it does have one of the lowest APRs of a secured card at 13.99% Variable. This may come in handy if you find yourself carrying a balance month to month — but we strongly encourage you to pay each bill on time and in full to avoid interest charges. This card is available to everyone regardless of residence by joining the American Consumer Council for free during the application process.
If you’ve missed enough payments that an account was sent to collections, it can be a tricky proposition. Leave it alone, and it will continue to appear as a blemish on your credit report for a long time. But pay it off, and it still might hurt your score in the short term. Luckily, there’s another way to deal with collections that will help—not hurt—your score, and that’s paying for deletion. Just like it sounds, you’ll contact the collections agency (which will love to hear from you!) and make a deal; if you send in full payment, the collections company will erase the negative reporting from your credit. They may even take less than 100 cents on the dollar to do so – as many debts settle for far less than what was originally owed. Just make sure get this arrangement in writing and mail a check to them certified mail with “Cash only when you delete the account from my credit report” written right above the endorsement line.

If you are facing financial difficulties, it's always best to contact your lenders, creditors or service providers (such as your utility company or physicians) as soon as possible. Collection agencies and legal fees cost lenders a lot of money, so they are often open to negotiations, which are free. Call, email or write to explain your financial situation (for example, if you have experienced a job loss or unexpected set of expenses due to medical emergency). Discuss a new payment plan and make a good faith payment. At the least, you might be allowed to skip a payment without penalty or lower your minimum payments.

Lenders usually look at your credit score for both a debt consolidation loan and a home equity loan. However, sometimes lenders can be more lenient with debt consolidation loans in terms of your credit score; oftentimes, borrowers can have less than stellar credit and still be approved for a personal loan or debt consolidation loan. However, those with excellent credit will be more likely to obtain lower interest rates with debt consolidation loans than those who have fair to poor credit.

With credit consolidation, you take out a new loan and use it to pay off smaller loans. Because you now only have one loan, you have one monthly payment. However, taking out a big loan can be tricky. If your credit score is not high, you may not qualify for a consolidation loan. If you do qualify, you may not qualify for competitive interest rates. Additionally, whenever you take out a new loan, there are loan origination fees which can run into the thousands. Finally, if you are able to secure a debt consolidation loan with a low monthly payment, it may be at the expense of the repayment period: you may be paying the loan for a decade or longer.
What's more, each time you apply for credit, the potential lender will check your score. Each time your credit is checked, other potential lenders worry about the additional debt that you may be taking on. Sometimes, the act of opening a new account, or even applying for one, can lower your score. Having lots of recent inquiries on your credit report dings your score temporarily. So don't apply for cards often, if you want to raise your score, and don’t constantly move your balance from card to card to get a special 0% APR. It will likely hurt your score more than it helps.
The next option is to ignore your debt. Collection accounts fall off your credit report after seven years. At that point, the delinquency stops affecting your credit. The catch? Your credit suffers tremendously in the meantime, and since you’re still legally obligated to pay the debt, a debt collector can pursue you until the statute of limitations runs out in the state where you live.
A third of your overall credit score is based on the credit utilization ratio across all of your cards. Because of the way credit scoring works, it's better to carry a $1,000 balance on a card with a $5,000 limit (20% credit utilization) than to carry a $500 balance on a card with a $1,000 limit (50% credit utilization). That's why, in discussing payment pecking order, we recommended paying off the cards closest to being maxed out. That's also why you shouldn't terminate accounts. It'll increase the percentage of total available credit that you’re using – and that will reduce your score.
With a balance transfer, you move your existing credit card debts onto a new card. Depending on your credit score, you may be able to qualify for a balance transfer card that doesn't charge any interest for an introductory period that can be up to a year or more. Yep—zero interest. The average credit card interest rate these days is nearly 13%. Having a year or more where you're charged little to no interest gives you the opportunity to use every available dollar to pay down the balance.
Also, after the payment plan is done, a completed Chapter 13 bankruptcy can show on your credit report for up to seven years. As Albaugh noted, however, a filer will usually have already negatively impacted their credit rating through charge-offs, delinquencies and repossessions before moving on to bankruptcy. In that case, Chapter 13 can actually help the credit restoration process and limit the amount of damage their score will incur.
It’s hard to know the answer because it’s impossible to know your exact situation. A credit score factors in both non-revolving (car loans or mortgages, for example) and revolving (usually credit cards) credit. Diversity of credit has an effect, as do on-time payments and the amount of credit you access versus your credit limit (under 10% is best of all, but under 30% is considered acceptable).
Rapid rescoring is for people who are in the process of applying for a mortgage or other type of major loan and, because of their low credit scores, are being denied credit or offered a high interest rate. Individuals cannot initiate rapid rescoring on their own, but a lender can do it on their behalf. The rapid rescoring service works with credit bureaus to quickly remove incorrect negative information from your report.
Other ways credit card consolidation can hurt your credit include applying for a new line of credit which will result in a hard inquiry on your credit report, adding a new credit account that can lower the average age of your credit history, and getting a new personal loan. All of these things will show that you have a high level of outstanding debt (your scores should improve as your remaining balance shrinks from where it started).
The debt settlement process involves hard-core, long term debt collection attempts by your creditors, and serious credit score damage that will last for many years. Debt consolidation companies like National Debt Relief and Freedom Debt Relief offer to help you through the process for a fee (eating into your savings). They will instruct you to stop paying your bills, which leaves you open to lawsuits by your creditors.

You could consolidation the loans with a federal Direct Consolidation Loan. The Department of Education will issue you a new loan and use the money to pay off your existing loans. If you include your defaulted loan, that loan will be paid off, and your new consolidation loan will be current. To be eligible, you must agree to either repay the consolidation loan with an income-driven repayment plan or to make three monthly payments on your defaulted loan before applying for consolidation.

People typically consolidate credit card debt if they have debt on high-interest credit cards and are incurring high-interest charges. By consolidating credit card debt, they can potentially save a great deal of money on interest payments and get out of debt sooner than if they left their debt on high-interest credit cards since more of their payment will go toward their principal balance.
Anyone who ever had a grandmother or grandfather should know that rushing a family recipe or lovingly-crafted process never works. There are an ingredient and a philosophy that can’t be touched or seen by the human eye but can be only be missed when that special knot doesn’t hold, or the meal flops bigger than a bass on holiday – tradition. Fast credit repair is like grabbing something in a box and expecting it to taste like “grandma used to make.” Unless the grandmother was a chemist and her kitchen was stocked with additives that may or may not put a lab rat down for the count that good, old-fashioned taste is most likely missing. Unfortunately, those who used those “pay-me-now” fast credit repair places and the rodent with digestive issues probably stand about the same chance of being approved for a new credit card. No animals are ever harmed when credit repair is done correctly – it simply takes time.
I was actually scammed by The Alternative Loan Machine $4,200. I know them. They are local to me. I paid them for work on my credit that they assured me would be done. It wasn’t done. They promised a refund. It’s been 3 months and the refund never came. Now, no one answers their phone, returns calls, or is on line at their chat “Help Desk” anymore. All the assurances of preventing scams and ensuring work, ended up all being B.S.